CAPMECEDataBookFinal

COUNCIL ON ASIAN PACIFIC MINNESOTANS
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR
SOUTHEAST ASIAN CHILDREN
EARLY CHILDHOOD
EDUCATION
• ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE AND CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE PROGRAMS •
DATA BOOK
COUNCIL ON ASIAN PACIFIC MINNESOTANS REPORT
JULY 2015
Note: This data book complements the Early Childhood Education Report. To read the report and 2-page summary,
visit mn.gov/capm. Please email any questions and comments to capmresearch@state.mn.us

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Table of Contents
List of Figures and Data Tables...........................................................3
Acknowledgements..........................................................................10
Introduction....................................................................................12
Methods...........................................................................................12
Survey............................................................................................... 12
Focus Group and Individual Interview............................................... 12
Sample.............................................................................................. 12
Data Collection................................................................................. 13
How to Use this Data Book...............................................................13
Survey Findings – Data Tables..........................................................14
Opinions and Activities around Early Childhood Education............... 14
Parent Education............................................................................... 20
Employment and Child Care............................................................. 22
Children and Family Needs................................................................ 24
Child Care Types and Schedule.......................................................... 31
Demographics................................................................................... 37
Focus Group and Individual Interview Findings...............................48
Common Childcare and Preschool Arrangements............................... 48
Child Development at Home............................................................. 49
Culture and Language........................................................................ 54
Highly-Valued Qualities of Care Providers......................................... 60
Cost and Affordability....................................................................... 67
Government’s Role............................................................................ 70
Parent Education............................................................................... 75
Specific Challenges of a New Community: the Karen......................... 81

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List of Data Tables
A. What is the heritage of these children age 4 and younger?.......................14
1. At what age should a child begin to receive formal early
childhood education?............................................................................14
1B. How important do you think it is for SE Asian children who
are growing up in this country to speak and understand
their cultural community or communities’ language(s)?..........................14
1C. How easy or hard is it for your family to teach your child(ren) to
speak and understand the child(ren)’s cultural community or
communities’ language(s)?.....................................................................14
1D. How important do you think it is for Southeast Asian children who
are growing up in this country to speak and understand English?............15
1E. How easy or hard is it for your family to teach your child(ren) to
speak and understand English?..............................................................15
2A. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Educate your child(ren) in the traditions and values of the child’s
cultural community or communities?....................................................15
2B. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Speak language(s) from the child’s cultural community or
communities to the child(ren)?..............................................................15
2C. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Offer foods from the child’s cultural community or communities?..........16
2D. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Offer religious education consistent with your family’s religion?.............16
2E. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Help prepare your child(ren) for school?................................................16
2F. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Offer flexible schedules (e.g. overnights, late and weekend care)?............16
2G. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Offer a curriculum or planning tool for teaching?...................................17
2H. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Use an assessment tool to track your child’s learning and
development?........................................................................................17
2I. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Promote children’s social and emotional development?...........................17

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List of Data Tables
(continued)
2J. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Are a relative or family member?............................................................17
2K. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Are referred to you by someone you trust?..............................................18
2L. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Have special training in taking care of children?.....................................18
2M. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Are rated high quality?...........................................................................18
2N. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Are located close to home?.....................................................................18
2O. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Are located close to work?......................................................................19
2P. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Have a small number of children in the same facility?.............................19
2Q. How important is it that (child care providers) –
Connect families to community resources such as
developmental screening for children, economic assistance,
or parenting information?......................................................................19
3. Overall, how easy or hard has it been for your family to find a
child care arrangement that has all of the features that are
important to you?..................................................................................19
6. To what extent does availability or access to child care impact
your decision to continue living in your neighborhood?.........................20
7. Are you or another person in your family a stay-at-home provider?.........20
8. Did difficulty finding child care impact your or another person in
your family’s decision to stay at home?...................................................20
9. Have you ever participated in a parent education class, such as
ECFE or another program?....................................................................20
10. What is the reason you have never participated in a parent
education class?.....................................................................................21
11. Are you interested in participating in a parent education class,
such as ECFE or another program?........................................................21
12. What early childhood development topics interest you?..........................21

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List of Data Tables
(continued)
13. Do you know about Early Childhood Screening, sometimes called
preschool or kindergarten screening, which is available through
public school districts and helps to assess readiness for school?................22
14. Are you aware of the child care rating system called
“Parent Aware” that is being tested in parts of Minnesota?......................22
15. Are you currently employed?..................................................................22
16. What is your schedule like? ...................................................................22
17. Do you have a spouse or partner?...........................................................22
18. Is your spouse or partner employed?.......................................................23
19. What schedule does your spouse or partner work?..................................23
20. In the past six months, have any problems with child care prevented
you or your family from accepting or keeping the kind of job
you want?..............................................................................................23
21. In the past six months, did any of the following happen for you or
your family? This does not include your child being sick.........................23
22A. In the past six months, about how often did your family have
these kinds of problems with your child care arrangements? –
Provider was ill......................................................................................24
22B. In the past six months, about how often did your family have
Provider’s family was ill..........................................................................24
22C. In the past six months, about how often did your family have
Provider had personal problems.............................................................24
24. Do you have any relatives, other than those in your household,
who are available and willing to care for your child(ren) age 4
and younger at least once per week for a total of 5 or more hours
per week?..............................................................................................24
25. Is any individual, such as a neighbor or friend, who is not a relative,
available and willing to care for your child(ren) age 4 and younger
at least once per week for a total of 5 or more hours per week?.................25
26. Please think about how much your household paid or will pay for
last week, Monday through Sunday, for all of your child care
expenses, for all of your children age 4 and younger?...............................25

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List of Data Tables
(continued)
27. What ages of the children in your family, starting with
the youngest?........................................................................................25
28A. How old is this child of Cambodian, Hmong, Karen, Lao, or
Vietnamese heritage?.............................................................................26
28C. What is the child’s gender?.....................................................................26
29A. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you read
to your child in language(s) from child’s cultural community
or communities?....................................................................................26
29B. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you talk to
or tell stories to your child in language(s) from child’s cultural
community or communities?.................................................................26
29C. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you sing
songs with your child in language(s) from child’s cultural
29D. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you have
your child read along with you or help them tell stories themselves
in language(s) from child’s cultural community or communities?............27
29E. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you teach
your child letters, words, or numbers, such as saying ABCs, or
playing counting games, or doing puzzles in language(s) from
child’s cultural community or communities?..........................................27
29F. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you get
your child together with other children from child’s cultural
community or communities to play?......................................................27
29G. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you have
your child play with culturally-specific toys or games or other play
materials, including everyday household items from child’s cultural
30A. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you read
to your child in English?........................................................................28
30B. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you talk to
or tell stories to your child in English?....................................................28
30C. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you sing
songs with your child in English?...........................................................28

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List of Data Tables
(continued)
30D. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you have
your child read along with you, or help them tell stories themselves
in English?............................................................................................29
30E. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you teach
your child letters, words, or numbers, such as saying ABCs, or
playing counting games, or doing puzzles in English?.............................29
30F. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you get
your child together with other children to play in general?......................29
30G. For your youngest child in a typical week, how often do you have your
child play with toys or games or other play materials, including
everyday household items that they play with in general?...........................29
31. On a typical day, about how many hours does your youngest child
spend watching television or using an electronic device like a tablet,
laptop, or other computer?....................................................................30
32A. Do you receive any of the following sources of support to help
cover the cost of child care for your youngest child?................................30
32B. Could you afford to maintain your current child care arrangement
for your youngest child without this subsidy or added help?....................30
33. Which of the following child care arrangements for your youngest
child have you used at all in the last two weeks?......................................31
34. Which of the following child care arrangements for your youngest
child have you used most often in the last two weeks?.............................31
35. How did you first learn about [Q34]?.....................................................32
36. How many child care providers did you contact before you
chose [Q34]?.........................................................................................32
37. Why did you choose [Q34] for your youngest child over other
possibilities? In other words, what was the most important thing
you considered?.....................................................................................33
38A. The provider educates my child in the traditions and values of
child’s cultural community or communities...........................................33
38B. The provider speaks language(s) from child’s cultural community
or communities.....................................................................................33
38C. The provider offers foods from child’s cultural community
or communities.....................................................................................34

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List of Data Tables
(continued)
38D. The provider offers religious education consistent with my
family’s religion.....................................................................................34
38E. The provider helps my child do well in school or to be prepared
when they start school...........................................................................34
38F. The provider has enough formal education and training to work
with young children..............................................................................34
39A. When child is at [Q34], child is safe and secure......................................35
39B. When child is at [Q34], child gets a lot of positive,
individual attention...............................................................................35
39C. When child is at [Q34], child likes the provider.....................................35
39D. When child is at [Q34], child experiences a lot of art, music,
dance, and drama activities from my cultural community.......................35
39E. When child is at [Q34], child learns new things and new skills...............36
39F. When child is at [Q34], child gets a chance to run around and
play outside...........................................................................................36
39G. When child is at [Q34], child eats healthy foods, such as fresh
fruits and vegetables..............................................................................36
40. How long does it take to travel one way to [Q34]?..................................36
41. Would you say that [Q34] is your preferred, number one choice
for child care, or would you prefer to change types of teacher
or provider?...........................................................................................37
42. What is your preferred type of care?.......................................................37
44. What is your relationship to that child?..................................................37
45A. Who lives in your household?................................................................38
45B. Including you, how many people, altogether, live in
your household?....................................................................................38
46. What is your age?..................................................................................38
47. What is the highest level of education you have completed?....................39
48. What is your gender?.............................................................................39
49. Which one or more of the following describes you?................................39
50. What is your current marital status?.......................................................40

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List of Data Tables
(continued)
51. What is your partner or spouse’s gender?................................................40
52. Which one or more of the following describes your spouse?....................40
53. What is your family’s primary language at home?....................................40
54A. How well do you speak and understand (primary language
spoken at home)?..................................................................................41
54B. How well do you read (primary language spoken at home)?....................41
54C. How well do you write (primary language spoken at home)?...................41
55. What other languages do you or your family speak at home?...................41
56A. How well do you speak and understand Khmer?.....................................42
56A. How well do you read Khmer?...............................................................42
56A. How well do you write Khmer?..............................................................42
56B. How well do you speak and understand Hmong?...................................42
56B. How well do you read Hmong?..............................................................43
56B. How well do you write Hmong?............................................................43
56C. How well do you speak and understand Karen?......................................43
56C. How well do you read Karen?.................................................................43
56C. How well do you write Karen?...............................................................43
56D. How well do you speak and understand Lao?..........................................44
56D. How well do you read Lao?....................................................................44
56D. How well do you write Lao?...................................................................44
56E. How well do you speak and understand Vietnamese?..............................44
56E. How well do you read Vietnamese?........................................................45
56E. How well do you write Vietnamese?.......................................................45
56F. How well do you speak and understand English?....................................45
56F. How well do you read English?..............................................................45
56F. How well do you write English?.............................................................46
57. In what country were you born?.............................................................46
58. At any time during 2013, did you or anyone in your household
have any income from any of the following sources?...............................46
59. What was the total income, before taxes, from all sources and all
members of your household in 2013?.....................................................47
60. How did you hear about this survey?......................................................47

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Acknowledgements
This report is made possible thanks to the advice, support, and help of many organizations and individuals.
We thank the following:
The Minnesota State Legislature and the Governor’s Office for their support of the Council on Pacific Minnesotans.
This project would not be possible without participation from our Southeast Asian community members in the
study and community organizations that helped us with outreach:
Organizations that generously donated incentives for survey participation:
Minnesota Children’s Museum
Minnesota Humanities Center
Minnesota Zoo
Community members who allowed us to use their photos for flyers, social media, and this report:
Our Advisory Committee who gave valuable feedback on this project:
Yer Chang, Minnesota Department of Human Services
Dr. Vichet Chhuon, University of Minnesota – Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Dr. Melissa Kwon, University of Minnesota – Center for Applied Research and Educational Educational Improvement
Jesse Kao Lee, Think Small
Dr. Rich M. Lee, University of Minnesota – Department of Psychology
State Representative Joe Mullery, Minnesota House of Representatives
Dr. Zha Blong Xiong, University of Minnesota – Department of Family Social Science
Wilder Research for their professional services in web and phone survey data collection, community outreach,
and consulting throughout each phase of this project, from project design to dissemination:
Finally, we are grateful to policy champions of early childhood education, Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans
Board of Council Members, and all those who serve our community.
Principal Investigator: Angelina Nguyen, Research Director
Asian American Press
Asian Economic Development Association
and the Little Mekong Night Market
Catalyst Foundation
Chua Phat An (Phat An Temple)
Coalition of Asian American Leaders
Karen Organization of Minnesota
Lao Assistance Center
Lao Family Organization
Little Laos on the Prairie
George Thaw Moo
Shades of Yellow
Twin Cities Daily Planet
Vietnamese Community of Minnesota
Vietnamese Language School
Wilder Southeast Asian Services
Watt Munisotaram
Denise Hanh Huynh, Research Associate
Sophak Mom, Research Associate
Walker Bosch, Data Analyst
Moon Soe, Survey Interviewer
Dan Swanson, Data Collection Manager
Surin Assawajaroenkoon, Survey Interviewer
Jennifer Bohlke, Graphic Designer
Grace Nguyen, Survey Interviewer
Jennifer Valorose, Research Scientist
Richard Chase, Senior Research Manager
Vilayvanh Carleton
Mai Chang
Angelica Keo
Belle Khuu
Anh Nguyen
Tuan Pham
Chanida Phaengdara Potter
Bao Phi
Der Thao
Gretchen Tieu

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ABOUT THE COUNCIL ON ASIAN PACIFIC MINNESOTANS
The Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans (The Council), a state agency created by the Minnesota State Legislature in
1985, advises the Governor and members of the Minnesota Legislature on issues pertaining to Asian Pacific Minnesotans,
advocates on issues of importance to the Asian Pacific community, and acts as a broker between the Asian Pacific
community and mainstream society. This report focuses on SEA children age four and under from the Hmong, Karen,
Cambodian, Lao, and Vietnamese ethnic groups in Minnesota. Our main objectives are to inform the Governor and
Minnesota Legislature, as well as local government, educators, direct service providers, and our community at large,
about SEA children’s early learning barriers and opportunities, and to offer policy recommendations to improve the
accessibility and affordability of such opportunities. Please email any questions and comments to capmresearch@state.
mn.us. To read the full report and infographic summary, visit mn.gov/capm.
Acknowledgements
(continued)

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Introduction
This report focuses on SEA children age four and under from the Hmong, Karen, Cambodian, Lao, and Vietnamese
ethnic groups in Minnesota. We hope that the data in this report will help improve the discussion about policy options
for our communities, by providing a grounding in the realities of birth to kindergarten life for our families and children.
With this objective, the research questions guiding this investigation are:
1. What early learning opportunities do SEA children have?
2. What do SEA caretakers believe about early childhood development?
3. What factors promote or hinder SEA children’s early learning?
This study, intended as a starting point for gathering significant data on how our SEA community operates, will offer
insights into the cultural and financial determinants of SEA parent decisions about their children’s early learning
opportunities. We intend to use this information to provide policy support to the legislature and to the Governor’s
Office in order to improve education for all members of Minnesota’s Asian Pacific community.
Methods
We used mixed methods to answer our research questions: cross-sectional (one-time) community survey, focus groups,
and individual interviews with parents and primary caretakers of SEA children under five years old. Questionnaires used
were designed to collect complementary data from all three methods.
The survey, focus group, and individual interviews were disseminated simultaneously. Eligible participants were asked
to participate in both the survey and focus group (or individual interview). Eleven participants participated in both the
survey and focus group.
Survey
The survey instrument was designed by Wilder Research in collaboration with our Council to collect data on logistics and
demographics of the target population, such as household income, commute time, and childcare arrangement. Some survey
questionnaire items asked respondents to select from a given list to indicate their values and preferences, such as activities
and traits of a care provider that are most important to them. The survey instrument was designed to be self-administered
online in English and also to be conducted over the phone in Hmong, Vietnamese, Khmer, Karen, and Lao on a demand-
driven basis. Its availability online allowed for the possibility of collecting data statewide.
Focus Group and Individual Interview
The focus group and individual interview instrument was designed by the Council to collect data of participants’ beliefs,
values, knowledge, and preferences regarding early education and childcare. The questionnaire items were open-ended.
Due to the conversational nature of focus groups and interviews, and the concentration of SEA families in theTwin Cities
metro area, all focus groups and interviews were conducted in the metro area.
Sample
We used a convenience sample due to the small target population size. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized
about the entire Southeast Asian Minnesotan population. It was not possible to find a sampling frame, and consequently
deploy a random sampling strategy, due to the population size, geographic dispersion, language barrier, and other factors
that make of SEA communities difficult to engage. We focused our efforts to collect the biggest sample size possible given
time and staff capacity limits.

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Data Collection
Outreach and recruitment for participants were done during the spring, summer, and fall of 2014.
Survey participants were reached at community events such as summer festivals, community gatherings, night markets,
and religious festivals. Interested and eligible participants were asked to provide their name and contact information.
Wilder Research staff made follow-up calls to those participants and conducted the survey over the phone or confirmed
that the survey had been self-administered online. We also used social media and local news media to conduct outreach.
A link to the survey was shared through social media channels of the Council, Wilder Research, and community-based
organizations in the targeted cultural communities.
Focus group and individual interview participants were reached via word of mouth with the help of our non-profit partners
from the targeted cultural communities. Focus groups were conducted in participants’ homes, at non-profit sites, and at
the Council’s office.
How to Use this Data Book
For every table in this data book, survey results were displayed for sub-groups of respondents based on the heritage of the
selected child. The columns in each table correspond to the response options given on the survey. “N” is the number of
responses. The sum of the N’s in theTotal row may not match the sum of the N’s in theTotal column because respondents
could select more than one heritage.
Focus group and individual interview results were grouped according to theme. The most representative quotes are
presented under each theme. Redundant quotes are not listed under their respective theme, but were included in the
count of references. Some quotes were categorized under multiple themes. For example, “What I like about having my
grandparents is because I trust them” was grouped under the themeTrust as well as under Friends, Family, and Neighbors.
In some cases where participants spoke in long quotes, the most succinct segments were selected.

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Focus Group and Individual Interview Findings
Common Childcare and Preschool Arrangements
Family, Friends, and Neighbors (FFN)
There were 31 references to this theme in focus group discussions, with 33 out of 48 families among focus group and
interview participants who use family, friends, and neighbors. Many SEA children stayed home with grandparents,
especially grandmother, for reasons of trust, convenience, availability, low cost, and exposure to their native culture and
language. The most commonly cited benefit of this FFN arrangement is low cost. Some parents, especially those with at
least a college-degree in a field related to child development or who works in early education, believed they can provide
equal or better quality care and school preparation at a lower cost than center-based care.
“For me, I’m just lucky to have grandma around, so both of my boys, the 5- and 6- year olds, they both stay with
grandma.” – Lao mother.
“Right now my daughter stays home with me. I take my time to teach her and stuff like that.” – Lao mother
“[My daughter] has pretty much been staying with family. Ever since I had my second child, I’ve been a stay-at-home
mom.” – Lao mother.
“My child is 8 months old. Right now she’s being taken care of by my in-laws.” – Vietnamese mother.
“We don’t put him in daycare. We work different hours just to accommodate each other so that we don’t have to put him
in daycare. We prefer to, I guess I’m speaking for myself because I don’t know how my wife feels about it. I think just us
teaching him at home is almost valuable as much as putting him in daycare.” – Hmong father.
“…My husband and I,…we work different shifts so that we can cover that,… so that we don’t have to send my daughter
to a daycare place.” – Hmong mother.
“My son…wants to go to some sort of training in the weekend, but I don’t know how to arrange for him to be able to go to
school. He just stays home and plays with his grandma. She’s teaching him Karen.” – Karen mother.
“I’m waiting to get a government voucher, so my child is just staying home right now.” – Karen mother.
“I have a 2-year-old son. My wife watches [him] at home because he’s young.” – Karen father.
“[My daughter] is the only child. I don’t work so I stay at home. So I’m the primary care and the secondary care would
be her grandmother or sometimes my friend. She has two grandmothers that sometimes take care of her for short term.” –
Vietnamese mother.
“My son is three-and-a-half [years old]. His current daycare situation is with both [sets] of the biological grandparents…
My parents would be Wednesday and Friday and then my husband’s parents would be Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.” –
Cambodian mother.
Head Start, Preschool, or Other Center-based Care
All Karen parents in our focus groups lived in Ramsey County, whose human services team had effectively reached out to
qualified Karen families and enrolled parents in ECFE and children in the Head Start Program, Early Head Start Program,
or the Childcare Assistance Program. More than half of Vietnamese families in focus groups and interviews reported using
center-based care. There were 12 references.
“When I’m at work, [my son] goes to preschool on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. When he’s out of school, if I’m at home,
then I take care of him. If my wife and I aren’t home, then we send him to our family friend’s house to be watched for 2
hours.” – Vietnamese father.
48

49
“My daughter goes to school every morning in the Head Start program.” – Karen mother.
“My son is attending Head Start program. He comes home around 11:45am.” – Karen mother.
“My child goes to Head Start four days per week, at 7am to 11am.” – Karen mother.
“My child goes to Fairview preschool from 8am to 1:15pm everyday, Monday to Friday.” – Karen mother.
“I applied for Early Head Start when my child was born, but I’m on the waiting list for 2 years.” – Karen mother.
“My oldest daughter just turned 5 on July 23. We’ve always put her in daycare since she was a couple months old until
preschool.” – Vietnamese mother.
“We have an acquaintance who works as a licensed daycare provider in her home. We dropped [our daughter] off there.
Her house was close to a preschool. When [our daughter] was 3-4 years old, we sent her to preschool for 2 years…so she’d be
prepared for school and won’t feel anxious for kindergarten…” – Vietnamese father.
Licensed Home-based Care
Licensed in-home daycare is almost always with providers from their own cultural communities, who were referred by a
trusted friend or family member. The benefits of this arrangement are affordable cost, trust for the provider, exposure to
the child’s culture and language, and time flexibility for the parents. There were 7 references.
“My 2 children haven’t started going to school yet. They’re in [Karen] daycare because I myself go to school.”
– Karen mother.
“My daughter goes to a Karen daycare. I applied for a government voucher through Ramsey County, but I don’t know the
name of the program. A case worker helped me apply for it.” – Karen mother.
“When I’m at work, [my son] goes to daycare, in-home daycare. [The provider] is like a relative, but she has a license for
in-home daycare.” – Lao mother.
“They [my children] go to a place called […]. It is about $120 per month, 2 days per week, two and a half hours every
Tuesday and Thursday.” – Lao mother.
“I have a one-year-old daughter. She goes to a Hmong licensed daycare center.” – Lao father.
Private Nanny
One Lao family and one Vietnamese family hired their own full-time nanny for flexibility, availability, individual attention
paid to their children, and trust. There were 2 references.
“I have a nanny for [my daughter]. She’s a lady that happens to be a friend of my aunt and uncle. I don’t really know
her, but my aunt and uncle trust her to watch [my baby]. I have her watch her when I go to work full time, Monday to
Friday.” – Lao mother.
“I have a boy, three and a half years old. I got a nanny. She takes care of both of [my children].” – Vietnamese mother.
Child Development at Home
Part-time at Home
While they see the role of formal education, or center-based care, as preparing their children for school, families see it
as their responsibility to help their children become a model adult and member of society, especially of their cultural
community. Focus group participants describe an ideal childcare or preschool scenario as a part-time at a center and

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part-time with family members – such as parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, family friends from their
cultural community – in order for their child to bond with family members, to learn their community’s language, and
to ingrain their community’s cultural values and morals. Part-time arrangements in general were referenced 18 times in
focus group discussions.
“[My daughter spends] half time at licensed home daycare, half time with her dad [in a separate household].”
– Lao mother.
“I’d rather have her with somebody who speaks the native language first anyway. Although nowadays we have grandpa and
grandma trying to do some broken English…But other than that, I’d rather have her with family.” – Hmong mother.
“I have my boys. Monday and Tuesday they go to daycare just for 2 hours. We do that so they would have some
environment with the school system. It’s through a church.” – Lao mother.
“I wish I could do a daycare where I can drop him off for a few days for just a couple of hours, but I can’t afford it. So the
only thing we do is we go to the Y, and they have a kid drop-off place for 2 hours.” – Lao mother.
“My biggest issues over the years have been flexibility and the cost associated with that because a lot of structured centers or
in-home daycares even, don’t do part-time.” – Lao mother.
“For the intellectual exposure, ideally I think 3 days, 2-3 hours per day is sufficient. Their attention span and ability to
retain…they need some sort of structure so if it’s repetitive enough but not too much where they get bored with it and not
to like it…is ideal. If transportation wasn’t an issue and I could afford to be a stay-at-home mom, ideally, I would love to,
but I’d like to have that structure 3 times per week.” – Lao mother.
“I think it’s good, if you really think about it, one hour for learning, one hour for play, one hour to learn extracurricular
[activities]. I think 4 hours would be good enough. I don’t want her to stay too far away from home. Because the half of
[the day], she should come home with home values. The other [half], learn outside.” – Lao mother.
“If we have our choice, four hours a week [of daycare] and we don’t have to work as many hours. We’d rather take our
kids. I just love staying home with my son. I don’t let anyone or anything talk me out of it. I think it’s really important,
especially at this age. But I also want him to be out there...in school, be out somewhere else besides just [with] me, so he
can get a chance to be able to learn things.” – Lao mother.
“[Schools] teach them the math, the English, the science, and the morals and the thing are at home. If they do something
wrong, you got to discipline them at home. When they come home, it’s my responsibility to teach them the morals, the
ethics, and things like that.” – Lao mother.
“I get the comfort because my daughter is at home with me. I know what she’s going through and how she’s being cared for.
But at the same time, I want to be able to take her to preschool for a few hours to get that [social] exposure…”
– Lao mother.
“Yeah, [I prefer] part-time for now because I don’t want him to lose his language yet.” – Cambodian mother.
Building a Culture of Learning
There were 17 references to building a culture of learning at home. Reading was the most common activity. The second
most referenced activity was reviewing lessons from school or helping children complete homework. Parents saw their role
as enforcers of the school system.
“[We] don’t know how to help [our] child in school because [we] don’t have the education, but what [we] can do is
encourage [our] children to study.” – Karen mother.
“[I’m] very hands-on. [I] encourage [my] children to finish their school work. [My] children have to complete schoolwork;
otherwise [I] wouldn’t allow them to do anything.” – Karen mother.

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“[My] children are not allowed to play with friends if they don’t finish school work.” – Karen mother.
“[I] ask [my] children to stay at home after school so [I] can supervise them. If they don’t study, [I] wouldn’t let them get on
the computer. That’s a rule.” – Karen mother.
“[My] wife helps [our] children with school work.” – Karen father.
“What [my mother] did with us which is what I’m going to do with my daughter is she gets home from school, whether I’m
cooking or whatever, asking her what she learned. If she learned how to write a word, ask her to write it out for [me], spell it
out for [me]…So when she goes to school she’s learning, and when she comes home, she’s ready to learn more.” – Lao mother.
“Whatever he does in school, for example, if he’s learning how to cut shapes, then I practice it with him at home.”
– Vietnamese father.
Family-Child Bond
Family-child bond were referenced 14 times in focus group discussions and interviews. Participants believed that
parents, grandparents, and other blood-related caretakers love the child more sincerely and unconditionally than staff
at a childcare business.
“Because I work third-shift so my baby is usually with me during the day time. I just feel that because I helped raise my
other two children – I showed them ABCS, I teach them – I’d rather be there for them to kinda have that bond with them
before they go to school. I think just spending time singing or telling him stories before his nap, giving him the eye contact
and the touch, I think that’s really good.” – Hmong mother.
“It’s not that I dislike or like daycare. I just have this fear of daycare, like I just don’t know what, I know there are good
daycares out there, but for me, I just don’t feel like I want to drop my kids off there for a whole day, couple days a week. I’d
rather spend that time with them. [My two-year-old] is home during the day with my husband. And then she’s home for a
couple of hours with my mom and then I get at 5pm to be with them. Because of that, I don’t want to do daycare.”
– Hmong mother.
“But I enjoy being with her, I don’t really care about daycare.” – Hmong mother.
“[The benefits of having grandma watch my daughter are] she’s getting to be with family, getting the language I want
her to get, and I tell grandma with the education background what things to do with her. So that’s personally me.”
– Hmong mother.
“So I’ve been with her for the last close to a year. That’s a blessing in its own because I get to dictate what her surrounding
is.” – Vietnamese mother.
“I like it because we get to spend more time with the kids.” – Vietnamese father.
Communication and Language Development (Reading and Speaking)
Language development was the most referenced school-preparedness activity parents discussed in focus groups and
interviews. Communication and language development was referenced 31 times.
“We read to [my daughter]. We started reading to her at an early age. She was 3 months when we started reading. We do
a lot of activities…we do ABCs, we do a lot of numbers, we do just activities for her age, and we do a lot reading at night,
almost every single night we read. We read when we’re in the car. We read when we’re at my parents’ house. She loves to
read books.” – Hmong mother.
“We always read to [my daughter] whether it’s reading during the day or bedtime. Same thing I encourage my two older
girls to read to her and talk to her in complete sentences… I know a lot of times when I talk to my parents we do broken
English, or we do half English, half Hmong. I try to teach my little 2-year-old not to do that, so complete sentences right
now and she’s pretty good at that.” – Hmong mother.

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“My daughter goes to school every morning in the Head Start program. When she gets home, she doesn’t do much. She sings
ABC songs, plays with her toys. I don’t read with her because she doesn’t like it when I teach her how to read. She’s not
interested.” – Karen mother.
“I sing ABC to my kid.” – Karen mother.
“Sometimes I show them pictures in books.” – Karen mother.
“[I] teach [my] kids ABCs – how to pronounce, recognize –in English.” – Karen mother.
“Wherever [we] go, [I] help [my] child identify objects, things, people in English and Karen. If [I] know an English word,
[I] say it to [my] child. If not, [I] say it in Karen.” – Karen father.
“…In kindergarten, [my son] has been doing really well. He’s almost on top of the class. Again, he didn’t go to preschool.
But I took time to teach him the alphabet, his colors, his shapes, and all that stuff.” – Lao mother.
“I’m always talking to [my son]. Even if he’s sitting in the back seat and I’m driving, even if he doesn’t understand me, I’m
just saying random words to him. Just so that he’s more familiar with it and eventually start to eventually pick up on those
words.” – Lao father.
“Just read to them at night. Make sure that they study. I always have my kids writing ABCD or teach them some words.”
– Lao mother.
“To me, it’s all about communicating with your child on a daily basis.” – Lao mother.
“I read to them.” – Lao mother.
“[Grandma] would also read to [my daughter] because [she] would actually bring over the books and show grandma that
it’s time to read. So grandma sits down, [my daughter] would sit down on grandma’s lap and open up page…and they’re
simple books.” – Vietnamese mother.
“I read a lot of books. For example, in preschool, he’s learning ABC. I enforce that. Counting numbers 1-10.”
– Vietnamese father.
“When [my daughter] gets home, we read books. Every day her teacher gives her a book to read. When she reads, I ask
questions to see if she understands. I look at her take-home folder and help her finish her assignments. At night, we read to
her before going bed.” – Vietnamese father.
“I know [his paternal grandparents] don’t read to [my son] as often…Maybe 3 times a month. I know my parents probably
read to him once or twice a week minimum.” – Cambodian mother.
The Role of Technology
Parents commented on how kids use technology, whether it was their smart phone, iPad, or computer, to educate and
entertain themselves. Common uses were games and apps that teach basic letters and numbers. However, there were
negative uses of technology in cases where children played video games and watch television to pass time. There were 20
references to this theme.
“I don’t know how to teach my son. He learns by himself playing video games on the computer.” – Karen mother.
“[My] child learns ABC from the computer.” – Karen mother.
“Our kids are in that age now where technology plays a huge role in anything they do... the iPad as an example, they have
apps that teach you educational stuff for your kids. My one-year-old knows how to unlock the iPad from the touchscreen
and move it around. At that age, it’s incredible what a little kid is able to do. It’ll be interesting to see moving forward
what technology is, how it’s actually going to play for our kid in the next generation.” – Hmong father.

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“Even with technology, it’s kinda sad sometimes we’re too much into technology and we forget to interact with them in old
fashioned ways, so it’s good and bad. But I still like to do old-fashioned stuff where you take the time to do your part as a
parent and use your voice and use your everything physical.” – Hmong mother.
“I try to limit my kids from going on the computer or iPad or iPhones because we only do all of that stuff on the weekends.
So I have a really strict schedule during Monday through Thursday night. The kids don’t play on the computers unless it’s
homework. No iPad. We have our phones, but no Youtube on the phone.” – Hmong mother.
“I use the iPad sometime. Because we’re on the road so much, I use that.” – Hmong mother.
Physical and Motor Skills Development
Physical and motor development was referenced 11 times in focus group discussions.
“I try to go with the traditional stuff, the crayons, the pencils, the white boards, kinda want him to get the hand, fine
motor skills.” – Hmong mother.
“[My daughter] does gardening with my mom. That’s the best part of being at parents’ house during the summer time.
My mom does a lot of gardening outside. She’ll be outside and learn how to do all that stuff.” – Hmong mother.
“Because my daughter is still young and she’s still growing, what I do with her and what I like to do with her is purchase
any activity that’s helpful for her. I buy tummy time mat for her to get her to learn how to roll over and be on her
tummy. I buy the jumpers for her because she’s learning how to jump and stuff like that. Anything that would help her
development, that’s what I do for her, and I would provide that for her.” – Lao mother.
“We’ll do activities that would help enhance her muscle coordination, so she’ll be on a walker, and she’ll walk around,
bounce on her bouncy chair, just to work with that. We let her play with food. We’re teaching her how to eat, at this time,
solid food. So we give her cereal that she could learn to pick them up with her fingers and hands, which is really nice.”
– Vietnamese mother.
Social and Emotional Development
Some parents think of development mainly in terms of social and emotional skills, while others see it as one aspect of
development among many. Parents believe social and emotional development was not only their responsibility, but also that
of daycare provider and educators to teach the child. There were 5 references about facilitating this development at home.
“That’s our job, to teach them how to be self-sufficient and get along with other kids and interact.” – Lao mother.
“[My daughter] doesn’t get to go out to daycare obviously but she goes out to the park almost every day… As far as what I’m
looking for is more time for her to spend with more kids so I try to look for opportunities to different playground area or
free water pool or whatever so that she can be brave and interact with other kids, because right now, all of her cousins are
very much older.” – Vietnamese mother.
Cognitive Skills Development (Math, Science, Thinking, Creativity)
Cognitive skill development requires parents to be more intentional, so there were fewer references to this theme, a total of
6. Parents in every SEA ethnic community believed that cognitive skills development was not their strength and therefore
was not their role. Such development is the purpose of schooling.
“I teach her daughter to read and write, numbers and mathematics.” – Karen mother.
“[I] teach [my] child to take off backpack, say good morning in English, where to go, how to hold a pencil. [I] draw and
ask the child to identify the drawn object.” – Karen father.

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“Half an hour once every other day, I play with her. Because you know, she wants to be a doctor. She knows what clavicle
is, she knows jugular, she knows where her heart is, on the left side. She knows her sternum. She knows where her ribs are.
She knows her thighs, legs. I teach her anatomy.” – Lao mother.
“We do shapes and puzzles. [It] gets them to think.” – Lao father.
“We’ll try to do some games…like, what color is this?...This is a triangle. This is a square…say his ABCs and count while
he’s playing with his toys.” – Cambodian mother.
Older Children as Teachers and Mentors
There were 5 references to the role of older siblings, mostly from Karen focus group participants. Karen families who
have older children rely on them to tutor the young children, helping them to learn English and do homework, because
parents are limited in their English proficiency and education.
“My son is very eager to learn. He’s very interested in learning, in going to school. My older children are teaching him
how to read ABC, so he knows the alphabet…When his older sister comes home from school, she teaches him reading in
English. They practice how to speak English together.” – Karen mother.
“[My older] daughter teaches the little one to read. The little one plays to computer to learn ABCs and learn songs.”
– Karen mother.
Parents are More Aware than Grandparents about Child Development
Focus group and interview participants showed that they knew basic ways to help their child’s development than the
grandparents. There were 8 references.
“My baby stays with my mom. I know they don’t do much. I make sure there [are] toys and…books for her when she wants
to read. But basically my mom just talks to her in Hmong… as far as…academically learning how to read or write at my
parents’ house, no.” – Hmong mother.
“…We don’t have many kids like our parents’ generation, so that gives us more time, and because we’re educated too, we
know that okay, we need to start doing this at a very early age versus a set of parents who have 6-7 kids, they don’t have
time. So I think that’s one of the advantages for our age group. We always want to spend our time with our kids and we
make that time available.” – Hmong mother.
“What I don’t like about it is sometimes in-laws have a tendency…and even with my parents probably… that they’re
micro-managing raising the child. And then she isn’t socialized just because she’s the only grandchild there. And I don’t
know…I can’t tell you fully what kinds of activities are done at home, like if they take her out often enough to really
socialize her.” – Vietnamese mother.
Culture and Language
Bilingual and Bicultural Upbringing
In focus group discussions and interviews, participants made 35 references to their desire for their children to learn and
retain their community’s language along with English and the challenges.
“I read books to them. I read English. Her mom helps her with Vietnamese. I help them with English homework, Sunday
school stuff. Her mom does the Vietnamese, I do the English part.” – Vietnamese father.
“I know my in-laws would talk to her in Vietnamese. I talk to her in English.” – Vietnamese mother.

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“For me, [knowing my native language] is important. But at the same time, it’s kinda sad, I think, for parents my age. I’ve
seen it through my cousins and my family members. When we are together with my sisters and brothers, everybody speaks
English. The only time my kids are exposed to spoken Hmong is when they’re with my parents. When they are with us,
sometimes we do half English, half Hmong. I try to put my kids in a summer program where they are just doing stuff with
other little Hmong kids… But both of my two younger kids, my middle one she’s 11, she doesn’t speak Hmong at all. We
try to have a speaking Hmong moment when we’re together and she just won’t talk. My 2-year-old right now, she’d say a
couple of words in Hmong and that’s it.” – Hmong mother.
“[Bilingualism] is important for me but yet I don’t fuss if [my children] don’t [learn]. It’s kind of an oxymoron...That’s why
my daughter is in the Hmong dual language school, I put her there. Like I said with me, it’s important, yes, partly because
we’re native in Hmong. We have this pride that we want our child to know their own tongue. But again, I don’t fuss too
much if they don’t.” – Hmong mother.
“I can speak the language, I can speak Hmong, but I can’t read or write it. It’s difficult for me to teach my kids and my
wife she knows a little Hmong. That’s the only barrier there. If I know any resources that teach Hmong for free, I’d be more
than happy to drop the kids off.” – Hmong father.
“I was born in Thailand but I raised here…I think growing up our generation had a unique situation where…at home
the main language was Hmong and then as soon as we left the house and went to school it was all English. And then when
we came back home it was mainly Hmong again. We were in that balance...But we are now adults and we have kids, it’s
a little different now because we speak English…Raising our kids, we communicate that way to them too… Our kids right
now hardly speak any Hmong.” – Hmong father.
“I notice with other kids, they can’t speak Hmong, but yet when they’re with their older grandma and grandpa, they’re
speaking Hmong. Because they know grandma is not going to understand them unless they speak Hmong. I know with my
kid, she can speak Hmong to me but with grandma even more. When she goes tap grandma to talk to grandma, she does it
all in Hmong. But then she’d turn around to tell me what she said to grandma, which I know exactly what she said, but
in English.” – Hmong mother.
“My kids are with their grandparents the majority of the day, but my kids speak English and they only speak Hmong. So
there’s that huge disconnect of communication.” – Hmong mother.
“I always force my kids to speak it. That’s what I would say, ‘Speak it to her in Hmong.’ I force them.” – Hmong mother.
“I feel really sad that I’m not able to put much more of my time into teaching my children Hmong because then they don’t
have that connection with their grandparents.” – Hmong mother.
“One of the big things as well is language. We’d like to keep him [immersed]. I think that’s very important, especially for
him just knowing culture.” – Lao father.
“Culture is really important too. If he were to know his roots…because diversity is going to come in America regardless…
it’s important for him to know his roots and where he comes from, that way, he can grow off of that and know who he is.”
– Lao father.
“I think the clash of two cultures…is the biggest issue…because you want your kid to learn your culture and your custom,
but then also the English culture and all that…I came here as a refugee…and it was really hard growing up living in two
cultures. At home, I’m wearing my sarong, being a little girl, raising my little brother and sister. And then I’m going to an
American English school learning that culture as well, playing sports and all that stuff you know. I want to be a teenager
and have fun. So the clash of two cultures I think that’s the biggest issue.” – Lao mother.
“They don’t [have opportunities to speak Vietnamese in preschool]. That’s why I send them to Vietnamese church on
Sunday to learn Vietnamese. But it doesn’t help that much. Nowadays, all the teachers speak English to the kids too.”
“What I [am]…starting to find…is that it’s really hard to constantly speak with [my daughter] in Vietnamese, but I
make an honest effort.” – Vietnamese mother.

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“I want my daughter to feel proud of her heritage and be able to say that [she can], not only understand, but speak
[Vietnamese].” – Vietnamese mother.
“There were times [when a Vietnamese nanny was a financial burden]. But I feel that it’s an investment. I believe it’s an
investment for our kids, for their generation. It’s definitely worth retaining a language, you know.” – Vietnamese father.
“The reason why [my husband] and I feel that it’s important for [our daughter] to be around her grandparents to keep up
with the Vietnamese culture and language is because once the grandparents are gone, I don’t think that [he] and I have
enough Vietnamese knowledge and culture to really pass that on. I’m still learning about Vietnamese culture and language
even at age 30. So I think that that’s a challenge for me to try to keep up in order to teach her.” – Vietnamese mother.
“[Language] is very important, actually. Before she went to an English speaking school, she spoke Vietnamese. After she
went to kindergarten, 6 months later, she spoke only English. That is why I take her to a Vietnamese language school so she
can interact with other Vietnamese children…My family values Vietnamese language.” – Vietnamese father.
“It’s also important to me that [my son] retains both of his languages. I mean, I’m Cambodian…I’m not super fluent in
it. But even if he’s able to remember a little bit and get around if we were to go and visit there. I mean, that’s more than
enough and he can always learn it in the future. My husband is from Laos, so they speak Laotian.” – Cambodian mother.
Cultural Evolution
Referenced 24 times in focus group discussions and interviews, a theme of cultural change in the parents’ generation
emerged. Sometimes a philosophical and cultural clash occurred between the parents and grandparents.
“What I don’t want my mom to…what I really wish that she would shy more away from is those traditional roles for women
and for boys, or for girls and boys. I always like, make corrections all the time so my kids are really torn about that. I kinda
cringe sometimes because I feel really, as much as I want to get away from traditional culture, there are touches upon us.
Because time and again, sometimes my mom would say to my daughter, her grandkids are only 8 and 5, or else to my little
son who’s 3 years old, ‘Oh, what would your wife think if you did that?’ or ‘What would your mother in law think if you
did that?’ I’m thinking, how about what would they think of themselves if they did that?” – Hmong mother.
“I think it’s important, but I don’t implement it. There are the cultural pieces that I truly think is important, you know,
that my child understands what used to happen back in Laos or Thailand. The [cultural] belief itself, I don’t implement
it… I don’t believe in that because I grew up really rebellious and even now I believe what works for me, that’s what I’m
going to do.” – Hmong mother.
“I was born in Laos. I came [to the U.S.] when I was 3…There are certain things about the culture that I want to hold on
to and pass on to my kids. But there are other pieces like…taboos and things like that, those are things that I don’t support.
And so those are things that will probably I’ll let go of… I just want to teach [my children] to be respectful…”
– Hmong mother.
“I always feel as though like, with Hmong American, that’s how I see myself and my kids, I always feel as though I’m that
hyphen right there in the middle and trying to come up with a culture that would fit our family and just take the best out
of what I can. Regardless of what inner families say, you just have to make things work for your family and make a culture
of your own…” – Hmong mother.
“I think it’s a big benefit to having [teachers and friends] because a lot of times in the home the grandparents from a
different generation, their English isn’t as fluent and their teaching and caring style is different as well. So in some ways,
[the grandparents’ influence] is good, and in some ways it limits [the children].” – Lao mother.
“But then again, there’s pro and con to giving [childcare] to family too. While grandma is great and it’s easy to drop off,
grandma doesn’t always agree with how I parent. I’m more Americanized than grandma…” – Hmong mother.

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“I look for my husband’s mom taking care of her, they always would comment, ‘Well that’s not how we did things.’ And I’m
like, ‘That was 50 years ago. Or that’s 40-something-years ago. Things have changed a lot and the understanding of child
development has changed a lot.’… So some of the research I’ve read is that what we’re doing is proper, but you really can’t
say that to your mothers. [Mimicking mom] ‘Well, this is just not how we did things’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, that was 40 years
ago! And it was in Vietnam, so things have really changed.’” – Vietnamese mother.
English Language Learning
Discussion about teaching and learning the community’s language is almost always accompanied by discussion of teaching
and learning English. There were 20 references. On the one hand, it is important for SEA children to have a firm command
of English in order to succeed in the United States. Conversely, other families prioritize teaching their children their
community’s language assuming that English will be learned easily by immersion.
“To me, I want [my children] to know [their native] culture and the language and everything, but I always feel like this
is where you live, this is the language that you’re going to speak, and yes, I can read and write in Hmong and I’m teaching
my kids that so it’s not a big concern to me that they can’t speak Hmong clearly or that they can’t write. I can always teach
them that. For me, English – this is what you’re going to be doing, this is where you’re going to grow up and die and so you
gotta [know English].” – Hmong mother.
“I think for me, sometimes you try so hard to blend in that you want your kids to blend in too, so that’s why we speak
more English at home than Hmong. When my kids are out there, I want my kids to understand. If they’re going to answer
something in English, I want her to be able to understand and to answer back. I feel like, if I want them to be like that I
have to do that at home too. I want to be consistent.” – Hmong mother.
“I think it’s good because in our past experience, English will come to them no matter what. It’s not their choice. It’s gonna
be forced on them. Vietnamese, we feel that we have to push them. We have to try to, as long as we can, have them hold on
to their native language before they integrate into American schools.” – Vietnamese father.
“At first, I was afraid of English because I don’t know it. I was afraid for [my son] too, but really in 1-2 years he grows up
and plays with peers, his English will be like everybody else here. I’m afraid he’ll forget Vietnamese language…The kids
who know multiple languages have better skills. I want him to retain Vietnamese; that would be good. I came here [the
U.S.] late, so I need him to know Vietnamese. If I can’t follow [catch up with] English, he can pick up Vietnamese and
communicate with me.” – Vietnamese father.
“Eventually all Vietnamese here in the US are going to speak only English. Unless you really discipline them, it’s going to
be very difficult…It just feels like once you’re American and you were raised to speak English and you want to be with your
friends and all they do is they speak English, you know, then that’s all it is. That’s all the kids care about, is at the present
time and being like other kids and being accepted by other kids, and other kids talk English and so therefore you should
talk English.” – Vietnamese mother.
Bicultural and Bilingual Upbringing with Grandparents and Other Cultural Practitioners
Parentspreferredtokeeptheirchildrenathomepart-timeinordertolearnlanguageandculturefromthemandgrandparents.
There were 18 references to this theme.
“My father-in-law has the kids go to him and then he teach[es] them some cultural things. This summer I’m trying to get
my father in law to teach them how to play the Hmong queej instrument. I see that with my father-in-law. He’s in that
teaching role.” – Hmong mother.
“My mom, she’s really good at making the kids speak just a complete phrase with just Hmong, versus Hmonglish. And
trying to keep the Hmong language rich, she’s really good at doing that, and also teaching them life skills like folding their
own clothes or cleaning up after themselves and how to be a good citizen.” – Hmong mother.

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“That was nice that way that they can stay with grandma and learn the language. That’s the most important thing for me
because I know that when they grow older it’s going to be much harder to teach them that. I want to instill that in them
while they’re younger.” – Lao mother.
“I also want her to be bonded with my community, like your daughter, your son. They grow up together, same age…
Parents, we trust each other a little bit more. They get their chance at the regular school, but maybe Saturday, I would love
for her to come to Saturday school for Asians.” – Lao mother.
“I also ask of my elders is that they need to also speak to her in Vietnamese, so that way she can continue to practice and
learn that because going to church and temple, whatnot, is a great thing and being able to learn it, but if you don’t get to
practice it, then you start to feel like, ‘Is it a dead language, mommy? I mean, it’s no use to me. Why do you force it?’ Then
it becomes hating the religion and hating whatever is associated to that language.” – Vietnamese mother.
“I guess the main advantages [of having a nanny is], she speaks Vietnamese. We want to keep that. We want to keep
Vietnamese at home as much as we could. Because when these kids start elementary school or whatever, kindergarten,
they’re not going to be able to retain Vietnamese at home. Because our son now, he’s 3 [years old]. He used to speak
Vietnamese, now he’s starting to speak English. We’re trying to force him to speak Vietnamese at home. I think that’s one of
the biggest thing that we want getting out of the daycare situation is that she can speak Vietnamese therefore we can keep
that language fully at home.” – Vietnamese father.
“I think daycare they ingrain a lot of education into the kid. They want to make the kid prepared for…preschool. I do
want the kid also to retain the language, their respect, the way they talk to their parents, the way they interact with us, the
education is not there [if we keep him at home], but culture-wise it’s worth it to me, to us. Language-wise, it’s worth it, I
think. Today’s world, everybody works hard to keep the language at home.” – Vietnamese father.
“I think the respect, you know, [is] very important. Respect. Because today our kids don’t have that anymore like we used
to…I think that’s the parent’s duty. We have ingrained that into our children and hopefully they retain it and pass it on.
I think it’s a very good language…I think if they learn a language, the respect that comes with it, the culture that comes
with it, learning a culture, the history… Those things we’d like to keep that in our family.” – Vietnamese father.
“I prefer that [my daughter] is fluent in Vietnamese because in my generation, although I speak Vietnamese and read
and write a little bit, [my husband] does not…I have a fear that we’re going to lose that culture with my generation
raising [my daughter] and her future siblings if we were to expand our family or whatnot. So I prefer Vietnamese. English
will always come because we live in the US, so it’s a requirement. But to maintain Vietnamese language and culture is
very important so I would prefer that very much. That’s why I don’t mind so much that most of the activities and the
caretaking is from the grandparents because they’re the best source, obviously, for maintaining that culture and language.”
Slower Language Development for Multi-lingual Learners
Childrenwhogrowupbi-lingualandbi-culturaldevelopcommunicationskillsataslowerpaceduringtheirearlyyearsasthey
juggle multiple languages and discover the appropriate context to use each language. Sometimes, this slower developmental
pace concerns parents and caretakers. This topic was referenced 15 times in focus group discussions and interviews.
“It’s not that they don’t understand me. My kids do when I speak to them in Hmong. They do say it back, it’s funny… It’s
like [they are] learning English, a foreign language.” – Hmong mother.
“I try to enforce that, probably not as much as my husband. He’s the one that wants them to speak Hmong and wants them
to learn the Hmong tradition and things like that. I just think that that’s something they can learn right now too, but they
can learn that when they’re a little bit older. Right now if I try to teach them Hmong all the time when they get to school,
it’s like, it gets confused.” – Hmong mother.
“My child says, ‘Can I play with your phone?’…I’d be like, in Hmong to her, ‘You want to play with my phone…Can you
say that to me?’ in Hmong….And I’ll fuss if she doesn’t, but she does, and the accent isn’t always there but I think after
doing a couple times they get [it].” – Hmong mother.

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“…What I discovered…is that, yes, your child is slow to pick up a language and they are slow to form a cohesive sentence
but it does not mean they’re not working up here [pointing to head]. It’s just a matter of when…” – Vietnamese mother.
“What [my family’s] concern is, are you confusing the child, and so forth and so forth. I’m like, ‘Kids are so smart that they
can pick up anything that you throw at them right? So why not?’” – Vietnamese mother.
“With my first one [child],…with two languages, it confused her. It slowed her speech down a little bit so I decided we’re
going to talk English with her so she doesn’t get confused. I thought…as she got older, she’d catch up. But now, they don’t
want to speak Vietnamese at all. I talk to them in Vietnamese, mostly they have an idea but they always speak English.”
“My daughter, she understands, she understands when I tell her, but she doesn’t speak [Lao].” – Lao mother.
“But as far as speaking, it just takes him a little longer because he has to think about what language he should speak in.”
– Lao mother.
“…We’re speaking to [my son] at home in Cambodian and Laotian all at the same time. So the doctor, his pediatrician,
said that due to this, that he could be a little bit behind. We don’t want to compare but we’ve seen a lot of other kids
between the ages of 3 and 4 and his English abilities are a little bit delayed, so sentences aren’t formed like the other kids’
we’ve seen. But this is expected, so we understand.” – Cambodian mother.
Self-Consciousness Felt by Children Who Are Not Fluent in Their Native Language
Parents, being of a generation that grew up in the U.S., experienced self-consciousness, discomfort, loss of a sense of
belonging, and/or embarrassment for being less than fluent in their community’s language. They observe similar feelings
in their children. There were 10 references to this topic in focus group discussions and interviews.
“I think it goes with generations. Our parents’ generation, it is important to them…I could speak Hmong, but not the
kind of Hmong the elders want you to speak. So then they’d make fun of me, they do, then it just shuts you down like [it
does] with your own children.” – Hmong mother.
“Our son is at the age where he doesn’t understand and he’s embarrassed. He doesn’t even want to try anymore because
he’s 8 [years old]. And when we talk to him Hmong, he’ll say, ‘I don’t know what you’re saying!’ He just yells it out and he
doesn’t have the patience to try to understand it and he does get embarrassed because you can tell him to say it this way and
he just doesn’t want to anymore.” – Hmong mother.
“There are times when yes, we do speak Hmong at home and I try to enforce that but I think when [children] get to a
certain age and they say something that’s funny in Hmong, then they stop. They don’t want to do it anymore.”
– Hmong mother.
“She’s embarrassed to [speak Lao]…But she understands what I’m saying. Because she sees on the TV at school all English
and the Laotian tongue sounds very funny.” – Lao mother.
“I’m just afraid that if I don’t do it [teach my child Vietnamese]…because my cousins who don’t speak Vietnamese, or I
should say they understand it but they can’t speak it, they somehow…feel inferior when they’re around the Vietnamese
people. They feel like fish out of water, you know. And I don’t want my child to feel that way…I see my two cousins and I
see that they struggle and then their identity start to change and then they start to reject their Vietnamese [identity].”
“Over time, with [my husband], he stopped wanting to learn Vietnamese or talk in Vietnamese because he was
embarrassed. He went to Vietnam and the kids were making fun of him because of his Vietnamese accent. So since then he
never wanted to talk or speak or learn Vietnamese and his parents talked to him in English. They do speak Vietnamese to
him, he just responds in English…He just respond[s] in English because it takes [him] a very, very long time to run a few
words here and there in Vietnamese, so [he]…gave up and spoke English.” – Vietnamese mother.

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Highly-Valued Qualities of Care Providers
Cognitive Benefit and Structured Routine
There were a total of 43 references to the importance of children having routine and academic activities to prepare them
for school. It was the most important quality parents look for in an early learning provider. They expect it more from a
formal, licensed provider than from FFN.
“[My daughter] attended preschool and was able to write her name, read ABC. So she got the foundation to go to school.”
– Karen mother.
“He learned a lot [in preschool]. He’s able to identify shapes: circle, square, triangle. He knows how to sing, read ABC, and
write numbers…I think they’re well-taken care of. They get picked up and put on seat belts. The driver watches them very
closely. At the Head Start program, they have 2-3 teachers in the class.” – Karen mother.
“[Head Start] is a good program because my child is learning how to read and write.” – Karen father.
“There was a little place we looked into that teaches little kids there, I want something that’s educational…Teaching him
certain things at this age, read to him, prepare him for preschool, prepare him when he gets to that age, be more interactive
instead of leaving the kids be and go for it and play with other kids.” – Lao mother.
“I want my daughter to learn higher education, so someone who is well educated, not just people from high school
and doesn’t want to flip burgers so this is where they can go. It’s not a babysitting job, it’s an educational place. It’s not
babysitting.” – Lao mother.
“They have the program through the county that you can send your kids, it’s called Four Star. Basically, they get them ready
for kindergarten, and you can send them just like a daycare, from Monday through Friday in the morning, pick them up
at night. You just go through the kindergarten school. They introduce to them and get them ready so by the time, most of
the kids they go to daycare, they don’t get exposed to kindergarten, by the time they go to kindergarten they’re just scared.”
“I wish they had more teachers, do a lot more stuff with them, activities, challenge their brain more.”
“I’m thinking about a specialist for everything, for every topic. Because I don’t specialize in everything, so having the ideal
daycare for me would be you have specialist, almost kinda like a high school setting except for younger kids setting. I would
be involved and a part of it, of the caring for this child.” – Hmong mother.
“What I do want to do better is I wish I was more structured with him. There are days that I work a long stretch on my
work nights and I’m just exhausted. I don’t have time to give him the energy and time to play, and I feel guilty about it.”
– Hmong mother.
“…I looked at a Montessori school because they take anywhere from 6 months to 12 years old. They do a lot of stuff that
sometimes I don’t have time to do at home. Like they do learning how to set up a table, make sure they take naps, and
sometimes I don’t do that at all. They teach them how to do a lot of stuff that sometimes, I think as a parent, and I’m just
speaking for me, that I don’t have time to do everything. So I want that for her.” – Hmong mother.
“A lot of time with Hmong children, they’re often home with their grandparents. A lot of times, the grandparents, I don’t
know if they’ve lost the energy…Because I look at my mom and my in-laws and she’s kinda stopped teaching my kids, you
know?” – Hmong mother.
“[An ideal scenario] would be, for me, one-on-one attention facility, all-day, starting from birth. I think those who have
the finance, the money that are able to put their children in daycare, academic, a more structured setting like that, I think
they’re at an advantage…” – Hmong mother.
“I’m illiterate and so is my wife. I’m also handicapped. I want my child to learn. If he stays home and there’s nothing to do,
then no one is able to teach him.” – Karen father.

61
“I drop him off [with the provider] in the morning at 6:30am and she feeds him breakfast at 8am once the other kids go to
school. And then I think they do play time, and then nap time, and I don’t know what else they do. They have a schedule…
We try to keep the schedule the same with his daycare because on days off, he’s so used to have that type of schedule. If he takes
naps over there at 12pm, he’s going to be tired when we have him at 12pm.” – Lao mother and father.
“A lot of it has to do with structure and schedules. They’re used to a certain schedule, so when you get home from work, you
have them do a certain part, then they know it’s dinner time, they know it’s time to clean up, they know it’s time for bed.
They have that kind of structure and repetition. It helps them understand.” – Lao mother.
“I understand from my reading is kids need to have a regimen, a very scheduled and expected regimen. And I insert those
times when she’s awake with either interacting, playing with me and reading, and also some alone time so that I can do
some work.” – Vietnamese mother.
“[It is important to] let her learn so her brain can develop. Children, from birth to age 5, 90% of their brain development
happens. Ordinary people like us, we don’t know how to encourage that development, but a licensed daycare provider
would know how.” – Vietnamese father.
“It would be better to be able to put him in a regular daycare with some kind of learning program…But for sure [with
grandparents], there’s no licensed learning program or accredited program that would be something I would like, and we’re
actually looking into it next year.” – Cambodian mother.
Social Development Opportunities for the Child
Having the opportunity to interact with peers and teachers and become comfortable with people is the second most-
referenced benefit for sending their children to daycare or preschool. In focus groups and interviews, parents describe a
healthy environment as one that allows the child to develop a sense of self, be able to negotiate with people around him,
get along with others, read cues, develop emotional intelligence, learn respect, embrace diversity, and to be comfortable
navigating a world of diverse people and perspectives on his own. There were 40 references to this theme.
“I need my child to be able to be sociable, how do you introduce yourself to a group, how do you play well with a group,
and if you get in trouble, how do you resolve conflict. That kind of skills is important because that’s going to help nurture
the child when it transitions to school and transition to life.” – Vietnamese mother.
“I want my daughter to interact with other kids since we don’t have any other grandkids in the family. My kids are the
only grandkids. She doesn’t have that social skill with other kids.” – Hmong mother.
“I think [preschool] is important because of the social skills they need, the simple instruction of following instructions, going
together as a group, motor skills, large, small, being with your own peers, seeing kids with other colors, all that matters.”
– Hmong mother.
“If the child stays home, he doesn’t have a lot of opportunities to learn. Going to Head Start, he’s able to learn and socialize
with his friends and make friends.” – Karen mother.
“…Now we’re putting him back in the daycare center for 2 hours. The young one, before I did that [sent him to school],
he was clingy to me. I couldn’t go anywhere without him. And now, that center really helped. It helps him not be so clingy
and on his own.” – Lao mother.
“The con about [staying at home] is that my kids aren’t really with other kids…They do okay with other kids when we go
out and hang out with family friends and all that. But I wish they would get more social skills and maybe be exposed the
learning culture, like English and all that stuff, starting with the alphabet. I do that at home, but I wish I was able to
afford [quality center-based care].” – Lao mother.
“But [my daughter] only listens so much, and she’s not very social. She’s the only child in the house. Everybody else is 15
and older. I start work on Monday, my husband works at night. When he comes home, he’s sleeping, and I’ll be at work,
so she’s home alone with grandpa, who doesn’t speak English and he doesn’t speak much at all. So technically she’s sitting in
front the TV.” – Lao mother.

62
“[Center-based care] is definitely good for the kid’s social skills to be interacting with other children even if they’re of
different ethnicities.” – Lao mother.
“…Being social…he’s social right now because of the daycare center that he goes to. I think he talks too much sometimes...”
– Lao father.
“I found with my two oldest children, when they were younger, a lot of times reading to them, they weren’t around other
children. They stayed at home with either mom, dad, or uncle, so they weren’t around a lot with other kids, they didn’t
have cousins or friends around. The way they picked up things versus the way my 2-year-old has picked up things is up
here to down here. My 2-year-old, she’s talking in full sentences…The point is they’re around other children who are more
advanced for potty training purposes and talking and even just eating habits. They just learn so much faster. That’s why I
think it is so important that they’re exposed to that, to other children in a daycare center.” – Lao mother.
“My son is 3 [years old], he will be 4 in May. He will start preschool this year. I wish I would’ve known earlier. Because
right now, he’s very shy. His social skill is not all there. That’s what I want a child to be, especially a boy, to be out and
active and be like a boy, but he’s a little bit gentle for his age. I wish I would have put him in a daycare or something that
might have changed his personality a bit…I have an older daughter that had the same issues. Because they’re not in school,
in daycare, they tend to be loners. When they go to the park, they’re just by themselves.” – Lao mother.
“I want [my daughter] to have the social skills, social interaction, where it flows easily instead of…I kinda see a little
anxiety, getting confronted with, having to deal with that. She was in preschool for a small session, but that was when I
still had money after I got laid off work. [After taking her out of preschool], I can tell the difference right away. I’m pretty
sure if she were in any kind of daycare setting previously, she would’ve interacted [with other children] a little bit more.
But getting her into that environment at first, it took her a while. It broke her down. She didn’t know what to do. She was
very scared.” – Lao mother.
“So far she only goes to daycare so she’s been out with a lot of kids and play with a lot of kids. Her vocabulary is okay. She’s
beyond with her social and hang out with friends and stuff... I see big improvement with her, you know. She sees older
kids, she hangs out with a lot of kids same her age and then go have lunch. Now, by the time she goes to kindergarten this
fall, she’s ready. She’s not going to be like scared.” – Vietnamese mother.
“Sometimes my daughter she went to daycare and she got bit or fight with the other kids. But you know, that’s how kids
are. They need to interact with other kids…you have to trust the daycare provider…But it’s good, they need to go out there
and they need to do all that stuff with the other kids.” – Vietnamese mother.
“He gains other skills too. He learned how to play and interact in school activities.” – Vietnamese father.
“…And then she isn’t socialized just because she’s the only grandchild there [with my in-laws]…Of course children at her
age have stranger anxiety, so my goal is trying to socialize her so that she’s used to other people.” – Vietnamese mother.
“Education is very important. So if they’re being very proactive and teaching [my daughter] responsibility on fairness
and being nice and polite, disciplining when necessary. That would great…I really do believe that the more opportunities
that they have with their peers, more extra-curricular [activities], it would definitely help them become a better person,
responsible adult, keep them out of trouble, if you will. Learn how to play as a team, respect people and other cultures as
well because they’re doing activities with other kids of different cultures. Hopefully when they’re exposed with the diversity
they aren’t scared and they’re not ignorant, and that in itself might encourage them to keep their culture or language
without feeling singled out or disrespected.” – Vietnamese mother.
“It would nice if [a care arrangement] was either in Saint Paul or Minneapolis where the students are a little bit more
diverse. I think that helps his overall development and becoming a better, more well-rounded person when he’s older.”
– Cambodian mother.
Care that Reflects the Child’s Cultural and Religious Values
Morals and values, both cultural and religious, were referenced a total 35 times in focus group discussions and interviews.
Parents repeatedly referenced teaching a child cultural values as a highly desired quality in a provider. Oftentimes this
meant keeping the child at home with family.

63
“I want to embed in this child moral beliefs and traditional beliefs and help program this little child. Because I think with
the school system and academic system, it’s great and everything like that, but I want to be involved and I want this child
to know these moral beliefs and have a part of me and thinking in this child.” – Hmong mother.
“There are pros and cons, because when they’re with family, friends, or family friends, they’re eating your food, language,
culture, and whatnot.” – Lao mother.
“I feel that both cultures are important. But our kids need to, here [in the U.S.], when they grow [up] in an environment
that teaches them culture, they learn how to be more responsible, more open-minded, more aware…” – Lao mother.
“What I see in public schools is that I don’t see the teacher would teach them the moral stuff. We need to educate them…
If we don’t teach them the values, they’re not going to know. What’s worst with kids is they listen to the teachers, not the
parents at all…because…we’re always at work and when we come home we’re just so exhausted, ‘Here’s the TV.’”
– Lao mother.
“I think that in order to have that kind of value, the daycare to teach the rights and the wrongs, you gotta have the right
staff. Say, if I’m a Laotian, I would love for a Laotian staff that knows the Laotian value and the American value…So in
kindergarten it’s very important. That foundation, that period of time is so important.” – Lao mother.
“I love for [my daughter] to go to Joy for Noy’s because they’re Christian. Because in regular school they can’t talk about
Jesus, they can’t talk about love. With her, I want her to be opening to learning Jesus loves me. I know it’s Jesus, but
underneath the message is carrying the love and how to love and at this age, it’s very important. It’s something that schools
can’t teach.” – Lao mother.
“A daycare should have high moral values, and to take full responsibility. Because when we’re handing our child to them,
they should be fully responsible for that child’s safety, for that child’s action…and to be able to teach your kids the proper
way, the right way to do things. I think that’s very important…that actually goes into each individual person too, the
person that’s actually watching your child, do they have good moral values? Are their moral values similar to yours? Or
similar to your beliefs?” – Lao mother.
“There is a level of moral exposure in school that I think should be expected.” – Lao mother.
“It’s a church-affiliated daycamp. It’s great because they teach about, you know, church stuff, which is good. It’s all day, so
it’s basically 8 to 5:30, five days a week. Last year it was $60/kid and $45 for registration and I was fine paying that.”
– Hmong mother.
“I like my daycare provider because she teaches the children how to pray [in Karen].” – Karen mother.
“We brought him to an American daycare at first, and they weren’t feeding him the kind of food that we eat at home. He
wasn’t eating, so he lost a lot of weight. We decided that we were going to switch him to Hmong daycare, and so he gained
that weight back. He loves eating and stuff, but he’s really picky on eating certain kinds of food and especially American
food…because we don’t eat that stuff at home.” – Lao father.
“I found my 2-year-old who started going to this daycare about 2 months ago, she was eating everything from fish sauce to
hot and spicy. And now she’s spent two months in this daycare and she hardly eats any Asian food.” – Lao mother.
Trust in the Provider
Trust was an important quality of a good childcare or preschool arrangement, whether it is FFN or a licensed center.
Many caretakers considered trust to be more important than the licensure and formal qualifications of a provider. There
were 31 references to trust in focus groups discussions and interviews.
“I don’t trust daycare, so that’s the reason why I don’t put my daughter in daycare.” – Hmong mother.

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